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HV Batteries are made of

HV Batteries are made of single batteries connected in series, to obtain the high voltage. If one of the 7.2 volt batteries go bad, the whole HV Battery does not work. If the only problem is with one battery, do not replace the whole thing. Replace only the bad cell. A lot of people including automotive professionals are afraid of high voltages, this vehicles are very safe to work on. Refurbishing the HV batteries is always possible and at a fraction of what the Toyota dealer wants. For more information on do it yourself or get it done, contact barsomtire@aol.com and ask about it.

I don't own a hybrid, but

I don't own a hybrid, but sit next to a guy who does. He constantly rants about how wonderful it is.....until I told him about my wife's little Renault. She has a 2004 Renault Megane 1.5 turbodiesel........64mpg commuting in and out of the city, about 75mpg sitting at a constant 60-70mph on the open roads. That's proper European gallons, so I suppose that might equate to about 55mpg and 65mpg for the smaller US gallons. I bought the wife a Jaguar S-Type diesel.....but have ended up keeping the little Renault as a 'runaround' and encourage everyone to use it for journeys over 20-30 miles.
I've never figured out why the manufacturers keep using petrol engines for hybrids. The sole purpose is to achieve the best fuel economy possible....so why stick to a petrol engine. If the wee Renault was a Hybrid, I would expect 80-90mpg. Some of the new even smaller turbodiesels, 1000-1100cc, are getting over 80mpg as standard.

I stayed clear of the

I stayed clear of the hybrids because of the high cost of the battery replacement and the low book value once they are near 150K miles. I have 2 Yaris', Both 4-door S models with all options. The 5-speed has gotten 43-44 mpg and the automatic up to 42.5 mpg, slower starts and constant speeds help achieve these high mpg's, and I am not a slow driver. This is a mix of stop and go and highway on every tank. I looked at it this way at a dealership years ago when they told me the replacement batteries would cost about 4-5K. If you compared a Honda Civic which gets 38 mpg and a Prius which gets 49 mpg and gas was $4.00 per gallon. At 150K miles, the Prius would offer a $3500 dollar savings in gas. But considering the higher upfront cost and the potential for extra electrical issues, the Prius would be a higher cost to operate overall when you include the battery replacement.

LOL

@ Ionnie C. Sorry, no you

@ Ionnie C. Sorry, no you cannot swap batteries every 5 years and save money...
You forgot to factor in electricity costs . Your fuel savings are not for free. Say you spent circa 0.35 kwh per mile. that is 7000 kwh in your yearly 20000 miles, or circa 1000 usd/year, if you pay 14c per kwh in average. So, in one year you paid 2300 (fuel + electricity) usd and saved 4200 usd , net of 1900 usd/year. You have paid close to 10000 usd more for your prius then would've paid for same 20mpg midsize V6 car. So in 5 years you are close to breakeven (1900/y times 5 year = 9500usd). By then you will have clocked 100000 miles in your battery (20000 miles/y times 5 years = 100000miles). So actually you have only 50000 miles more to go before replacing the batt pack. Now it becomes interesting: you save close to 10c per mile when compared with the 20mpgV6 , so after 50000 miles you saved: 5000 usd. Guess how much will it cost you to replace your batt pack ?. I was in doubt before, now I am certain. I will leave hybrids for you guys to buy it, please buy lots of them, so one day when economy of scale makes things more interesting, then you count on me for the party !

Something very similar just

Something very similar just happened to me. After getting the power steering recall done on my 2001 Prius, all the warning lights came on a week later, and the dealership is telling me I need a whole new HV battery system, even tho one cell is bad. I'm curious what ever happened in your case?

This is my first time i

This is my first time i visit here. I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the good workfastest paday loans